


Aureate

by DearLazerBunny



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Heist, Original Character(s), Sarcasm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-20 14:16:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13719438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DearLazerBunny/pseuds/DearLazerBunny
Summary: Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Cursing/Language in every single chapter. Consider yourself warned.

“You’re not seriously doing this.”

“What the fuck does it look like I’m doing then, Jordie?” I shoved another stack of papers into my bag. “And learn to knock every once in a while, Jesus.”

“If I knocked you’d melt the doorknob off before I could open it.”

“Shut up!” I threw a blanket at him and he batted it away, rolling his eyes. “Someone might hear you.”

Jordie threw the blanket back at me, hard, before worming his way into my broom closet of a bedroom and shoving my clothes aside so he could sit on my bed. Without asking. Naturally. “Mom is at work; Maddie and Benny are outside.” He held a hand out, stopping me from trying to maneuver in some sort of gear thingie Maddie swears is VERY IMPORTANT. “Which is why we need to talk.”

“What else is there to talk about? We decided on this months ago!”

“And now I’m having second thoughts.”

“Now you’re having second thoughts. Now you’re having second thoughts.” The folding was discarded as I rubbed my temples, already fed up with this entire charade. “This entire fucking plan rests on _me_ , Jordie, and you’re sitting on your ass here like you’re about to steal from Captain fucking America!”

“Goldie-”

“Just shut up, Jordan.” The floor was stone cold, but I sat anyways, willing the temperature to stiffen my spine. I had to do this. We didn’t have a choice. “I’m sick of this already.”

He sighed from above me, a tired sound. It matched my own. “I know. Me too.”

He slid to the floor beside me with a thump, letting his head fall back against the metal frame with a self-deprecating clink. “I don’t want you to do this.”

“Thanks. But unless you suddenly develop my weirdness in the next two days, I don’t think-”

“Goldie.”

“Sorry, sorry.” My head sank onto his shoulder and he put his hand on my knee. It was comforting. Not that I would ever tell him that. “I’m just…tired.”

“Yeah.” The hand didn’t move, and he let me stay curled up against him. “I know.”

=========================================================================

  
Maddie getting into this science fair thing was a stroke of luck. We’d been following any news about Captain America we could find; any appearances he would make: meet-and-greets, press conferences, tours with the other Avengers. None of them we could feasibly get to. Jordie thought about applying for jobs as an aide or a runner or something like that, but he’s the only adult we have at home most of the time so if child services came again we needed him to be our face. He’s healthier than most of us ‘cause he works at the junkyard and they feed him there sometimes. And then Maddie entered this science thing she built into Tony Stark’s exhibition and she actually got in. Guaranteed exposure to the super people, it said so right in the invitation. All I had to do was tag along as her plus one.

We were after the vibranium. We barely knew anything about it, other than it was rare and basically indestructible and a hell of a lot of people on the black market were willing to pay for it more than any of us would ever make in a lifetime. Benny was about to start school, and Mom’s piece of crap car was gonna give out any day, and… we needed the money. Bad.

Mom’s a nurse at the hospital a couple miles away. Twelve hour shifts three days a week is the norm, but she’s always picking up extra to try and get bonuses. Jordie has the junkyard, but that’s not enough for four kids. We live in a three room shack with heat and electricity wired in from a business building across the parking lot. Maddie can’t work ‘cause she’s the only one of us smart enough to actually do school. And Benny’s like, two.

So that leaves me. And I’m not anything special, believe me, but… I can do this thing. With metal. Any metal, as far as we know. Me and Jordie. We never told anyone else, ‘cause we figured if we went down Mom and Maddie would be able to do alright with Benny.

I can… control it, I guess? Or like, make it do what I want. And for a while I can replicate it. Mostly while I’m touching it, but if I concentrate really hard it’ll stay for five, ten minutes maybe, as long as I don’t get too far away. It just takes a little bit of whatever metal you want, and it has to be real- I’ve got all the popular ones, the ones that sell well. Gold, silver, even a bit of platinum that we… stole. I mean, we stole all of them, what do you expect? Bronze and copper people like sometimes. These piercings on my ear, they’re tiny, but they’re all I need to make a necklace or whatever to pawn. Jordie helped me figure out the game. I go in and sell, or sometimes Jordie depending on the place, and we get the money and run like hell. We try to keep the sells low- a little piece of jewelry or coins or something, and we never go back to the same place. ‘Cause once I leave, it just… dies. Turns to ash. Can’t pull that same trick twice.

The problem is we’ve been doing this since I was thirteen. Two years. We’ve hit just about every pawn shop in Brooklyn by now, and then in the surrounding Burroughs, but we’ve still got less than a couple hundred for the whole house and that’s never gonna be enough.

But with this vibranium stuff? If we could sell it, we’d be set for life. I’d never have to touch a piece of gold ever again. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

“Goldie.”

“Goldie!”

Someone grabbed my shoulder and shook it and I opened one eye blearily, focusing on my packed duffle bag that was waiting for me, train ticket on top. We were leaving today, in…

“What the hell, Jordie? The train doesn’t leave until 10!”

“I know.” The room was dim, but I could hear the grimace in his voice. “The car broke.”

“God-” I sat up, rubbing sleep out my eyes viciously. “Can you fix it?”

“If I could, I-”

“-you wouldn’t have woken me up.” _God fucking_ \- “Okay. Give me a minute.”

“I’ll meet you outside.”

===================================================================

I waited for him around the side of the building as he scoped out the place. It was a gross part of town, that’s for sure- broken booze bottles, needles, god knows what else piled up against the brick. We didn’t come over here unless we were desperate. I shivered, zipping my hoodie up farther towards my neck. Fall was starting; the wind had a bite. It would get too cold to walk soon, and of course the car had to go and die on us.

“They want silver.” Jordie came jogging over, hood pulled up around his ears. “Can you do it?”

“Yeah.” I briefly touched the silver stud that pierced my left ear. I closed my eyes. Focused. I could feel all the little molecules buzzing around. Like little tiny stars I could tug on, making them split and multiply into fine strands. Despite being hard to the touch, I could twist and braid them like it was string, forming it into a chain some tough guy could drape around his neck like a trophy. Theoretically. If it was real.

Well, it was real, as far as we knew. Nobody had ever been able to tell the difference, until they opened their safes and found dust instead of precious metal.

I tried to hand it to Jordie but he shook his head. “You’ll have to do it, I told him I used a runner.”

“Great.” This was the fourth place we’d stopped at and I could feel myself tiring. The buzzing got weaker, the metal got a little softer in my hands. “I feel like I’m gonna pass out.”

He bent in front of me, looking into my eyes, and I turned them away, not wanting him to see the fatigue. “If you can’t do it you can’t do it. This guy’s gonna test it, you’ll have to hold onto it for at least ten minutes.”

“Shit, Jordie, I thought we said-” No more testers. That was the hardest- trying to hold onto control as we walked farther and farther away. Especially with the acid test, that was torture. It was like I could feel it bubbling into my bones as it scraped against the silver.

“I know, I know, he sprung it on me.” He was concerned. The bags under his eyes told me this was just as hard on him as it was on me. We needed this, but he wouldn’t ever make me do something I couldn’t. He never had.

Sometimes I wondered how amazing my brother would be if he had been born to a better family. He was already pretty damn great; I mean, he basically raised us with Mom gone so much. Him and Maddie. He was smart, like Maddie, he should be in college with a girlfriend and honors and all the money in the world. They all should be. Mom in a great big house, Maddie with all the science stuff she could want. Benny in a house where he could actually play and have friends. Me, I’m useless. I’m not smart, I can’t cook or keep everyone straight or fix things. But I can do this. At least.

“I’ll be fine.” I tapped his cheek, gently pushing his gaze away from me. “Just be ready for me to come out.”

“I’ll be right here.”

“Okay.” He reached out and tucked the end of my braid into the collar of my hoodie before I stepped onto the street.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.  
> Chapter Text

The shop wasn’t much better than the street. It was dim, and shoved full of crap that had sad stories just dripping off of them. I saw a teddy bear in the corner and tried not to think about how much Benny would like it.

Cases full of jewelry were under glass and edged in steel. Probably bulletproof, considering the street it was on. Gold and bronze winked at me from under soft lights, and I focused on the chain wadded up in my hand. Keeping it whole. All the metal felt like it was screaming at me, begging for my attention, wanting me to pick it up and mold it around my fingers. It was always like this. Anything shiny always grabbed my eye. Duller metals, ones that weren’t as coveted, those were okay- like a pleasant hum in the back of my head. But the prettier they got the louder they shouted. It wreaked havoc on my focus when I first started. Luckily the longer I wore a piece the softer the voices it grew. I barely even noticed my jewelry anymore, and I never took them off.

I dropped the chain onto the glass and watched a man get up from a chair settled in the corner, under a flickering lightbulb. Such atmosphere. He grabbed it greedily and turned it over in his fat fingers, leaning back so it could catch the light. By the time he looked at me, I had made my face into the hard stare that you had to use on these guys. Otherwise they’d walk all over you.

“How much?”

The man leaned over the counter, peering at me closely. “Where the hell did a kid like you get something like this?”

“Does that matter?”

“Does that matter. It matters, girlie, because if the police are looking for a stolen neckla-”

“They’re not.” He raised an eyebrow. “It’s my stepfather’s,” I lied, trying not to grit my teeth. “He’s crazy, he won’t notice it missing. And we need money.”

“How old are you? Thirteen?”

“How much. For the necklace.” My concentration was wavering.

“Two hundred.”

I tried not to scoff. “Bullshit. My br- my boss said you needed silver.” I made a sweep of the case in front of him. “I don’t see any for sale. Four.”

It was his turn to laugh, but I was getting tired. “That’s a thousand dollar necklace. You’re lucky I’m desperate.”

He eyed me again. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me. “Three fifty.”

“Fine. Cash only.”  
He huffed, pooled the chain into his giant palm. Unsheathed a pocketknife, cut the tiniest sliver of one link off and tapped it into a waiting cup of acid. The silver was pure, that wasn’t the issue, the problem was that it felt like the acid was eating me instead of the metal. I tried to subtly shake the pins and needles from my fingertips as he counted out the cash.

“Here.” I was careful to not touch his sweaty fingers as I took the money. “Now scram, I don’t need you on my cams.”

No need to tell me twice. I was almost out the door when I paused, shoulders sagged. From the reflection in the window I could see the man was back behind his desk, fooling with his new prize.

My hand darted out and tucked the bear in front of me before I pushed out into the early morning air.

======================================================================

“Jordie..?”

“Here.” He materialized like a shadow by my side, and I instantly grabbed his arm for support. “What’d you get?”

“Three fifty.” I handed over the money with shaky fingers, watching him thumb through the bills with a practiced hand. “Is it enough?”

I watched him mentally count, adding p our other sales tucked deep in his pocket. And he smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.”

“Good.”

“What is that?”

I had the bear half hidden under my jacket, so I pulled it out. The little brown bear had glass eyes that winked at me cheerfully under the streetlights. The bow around its neck was torn, but I could tear off a strip of an old pillowcase and fix that. “I got it for Benny.”

“Did you pay for it?”

I tried to give him a look but looking away from the sidewalk made me trip over a crack. I wobbled dangerously close to splatting on the pavement before my brother caught my shoulder. Jesus. We still had to get to manhattan and Maddie made me promise I would help her set up and run some kind of demo…

“Let’s take the bus, yeah?”

“No, I’m fine, I can walk-”

“Goldie.”

“…yeah. Yeah, okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Do I know how pawn shops work? Nope. But bear with me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

“Where have you been?” Maddie shoved the door open just as we were walking up the front steps, shrieking so loud I thought the windowpane was gonna burst. “The train leaves in half an hour, and we still have to get to the convention center-”

“Maddie, chill, it’s okay. We just went for a walk.” Jordie held the door open for me and I beelined for the sink, drawing a glass of water from the tap and chugging it. “Goldie has everything packed, right?”

I grunted a yes. “Everything you’d let me touch.”

“Oh.” She deflated a little. “Okay. Sorry. This is just a big deal and-”

“-and you’re going to do amazing.” Jordie put a hand on her shoulder and gave her that comforting brother-knows-best look. “You’ve been working on this for months, nothing is going to go wrong.”

“It’s just- I heard if you impress him you might actually get an _internship_ at Stark Indus-”

“S’cuse me, sorry,” I elbowed past them, not wanting to hear all the details of the freaking billionaire superheroes we were about to try and snatch from. “Where’s Benny?”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “He’s in the living room, geez.”

I left them to talk geek and rounded the corner, pulling the teddy bear out from my jacket. His fur was a little matted so I tried to fluff it up, straighten the ribbon. He was still pretty cheery, and Benny was pretty rough on his toys sometimes anyways.

He was propped up in a little rocker chair thing someone had put on the curb, gumming a chew toy as he watched some kids show on tv. When he saw me he made one of those cute little baby noises and waved his arm around. I smiled. Benny always knew how to cheer me up.

“Hey there little guy.” I sat down on the floor next to him and gently ruffled the wisps of dark hair on top of his head, making him gurgle. Why I was the only blonde in the family, I had no idea. “I gotcha something. It’s not much, but…” I tucked the little animal into the crook of his arm and he squealed, immediately putting it in his mouth. “No- no, dude, that’s not what you do with that.” I laughed as he frowned a little at the taste. “You hug it. Like _this_.”

I picked him up out of his chair- damn, he was getting big- and settled him in my lap, trying to adjust him so he wasn’t just a floppy sack. “See? And you wrap your arms around it like this-” I gave him a little squeeze and blew a big raspberry on the top of his head. His laugh felt like it was painting the whole room in yellow sunshine. “And then you can hug on it when I’m not around to hug you, see?”

His dark eyes got a little quiet and I could’ve sworn he actually understood me. He was a good listener like that.

“Goldie-!” My sister was lugging a giant box of techno crap into the room. “We have to go, come on!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming! Jesus.” I gave Benny one last kiss and settled him back into place. Maddie was sitting on the front stoop trying to fit everything into a big black suitcase. We’d have to carry everything with us, and the fair was a decent walk from the train station. 

Jordie caught me before I pushed open the screen door. “You sure you’re okay?”

I sighed. No. “Of course. Get a photo, get a scrap of metal, get the money. How hard can it be?”

He snorted. “Right. Just… be careful, okay? If you can’t get close enough, we’ll figure something else out. It’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, yeah, thank you dad.” I opened the door to an impatient Maddie tapping her foot. “You just worry about getting a car, ‘kay?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

I needed air. The smell of nerds was giving me a headache.

Don’t get me wrong, it was kinda cool, seeing all the dorks being excited about whatever the hell they were talking about. It was my fifth grade science fair on steroids- flying things and wires and all sorts of dangerous stuff accented by bright colored poster board. Maddie was over the freaking moon; it was like she won the lottery. She was talking a mile a minute as she set stuff up, pointing out what I could touch without breaking it and her setting up the rest, trying to explain to me what exactly she had made. Something about magnets, maybe? I don’t really know. I love her, but I don’t usually understand a word out of her mouth.

I told Maddie I was going to the bathroom- I don’t think she heard me, she was busy tinkering with a switchboard- but I slipped out a side door and walked around a little until I found a metal fire escape on the back of the building. Sat down, lit a cigarette I had smuggled in. The quiet was nice, even with the car alarms in the distance. The building was brick so there was a nice damper between me and all the conductive metal and crap that was firing in the fair hall-

“You look a little young to be smoking.”

I wasn’t even going to look up, just tell whoever it was to piss off, but the gigantic shadow the dude cast as he stood over me kinda made me think that wasn’t a good idea.

“Look, dude, I-”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you what to do.” The guy chuckled. “I’m not your ma. Just figured you should know they found out they cause cancer now.”

What the- “Uh, I’ll keep that in mind…”

“Steve.”

Holy shit.

“Yeah.” I took another drag to cover how startled I was. Captain friggin America was standing right in front of me. I didn’t even have to chase him down or sneak somewhere or nothing. Was I usually this lucky? “I know.” He stood there looking at me for a few seconds. I pulled out another cig. “Want one?”

“Um, no, thank you.” He smiled a little at that. “Can’t afford to. But I’ll take a seat if you don’t mind.”

I waved my hand indicating that he could, and he sat down in the dirt, leaning up against the bars of the railing like he was lounging on a beach. “Captain America can’t afford to smoke?” He didn’t have his uniform on, obviously, but he’d probably brought it for the photo thing, right? Just needed to figure out how to ask without seeming incredibly obvious…

He laughed a little. “Asthma. Force of habit.”

“Captain America has _asthma_?”

“No, I-” he sighed, and shook his head. “Never mind. It’s a long story.”

“Hm.” I blew out a trail of smoke. If I was a giant shiny shield, where would I hide? “Sounds complicated.”

“A little.” He turned his head to look at me. “You one of the contestants?”

“God, no. My sister’s in there doing her science shit, I was just promised free food.”

“Language.”

“I-” okay. This guy was nothing like I imagined. I kinda liked that though. “-sorry?”

He shrugged. Opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then closed it. Opened it again. “Forgive me if this sounds strange, but are you from Brooklyn? The accent…”

Oh, crap, wasn’t he from Brooklyn? I could work with this. “Depends on who’s asking. If you’re a Dodgers’ fan, the answer is yes. If you’re a Giants’ fan, the answer is hell yes.” I paused. “S’cuse the language, of course.”

That got a real laugh. It was a nice sound. A little of the tension went out of his shoulders. “I think I can give you a pass on that one.”

“You’re from Brooklyn, right?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I think I learned about it in history class or something.”

“Yeah. Me and my friend both.” His voice was… sad. I guess I would be too, if my best friend had died in the nineteen whatevers. Still, I figured if I could keep him talking, maybe I could get somewhere.

“No siblings then? Lucky you. I got three, and I hate all of them. Except Benny, he’s too young to hate. I’ll give him a few years.”

“That sounds like something Buck would’ve said.” The smile was obvious in his voice. “He had a bunch of siblings too.”

“Yeah?” I put the cigarette out in the dirt, then put the rest of it back in my pocket so Captain America wouldn’t chop my head off for littering. “Bet he was a pain in the as- pain in the butt, then.”

“One hundred percent, you better believe it.” He turned all the way around to face me now, and I could get a good look at him. T-shirt, motorcycle jacket, nothing flashy. Big shiny swoop of blonde hair that looked just about the same as it did on television. His eyes were nicer though. Like he was an actual person. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I asked your name..?”

“Goldie.”

“Interesting name.”

“Nickname. Real name’s Ellie.” It felt strange coming out of my mouth. I held up the fingers that held a couple rings on each one. “But I like shiny things, so… the nickname stuck.”

“And your sister’s name?”

“Madison, but, Maddie.”

“Maddie, Goldie, Benny…”

“And Jordan. But we call him Jordie. We might as well start a band.”

There was a warm look on his face, like I was his best friend’s long lost sibling or something. Bingo. “Steve, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“So, my little brother, he’s a big fan of you.” I gave him my best good-girl-little-sister smile. “And he was all excited when I said I would get to meet you. My older brother Jordie though, he didn’t think we’d meet anyone, just some PR person, you know?” I took a breath. “So I made him a bet.”

“And I’m assuming he took it.”

“Yup.” I gnawed my lip, trying to think of where to go next. “I bet him a whole month’s worth of chores too, so…”

Steve gave a low whistle. “I’m thinking you better come through on this one.”

“Well, that’s where you come in.” Another arched eyebrow, but this time he looked amused. “You see, I kinda promised him I could get a photo holding Captain America’s shield…”

“Did you now.”

This was all a freaking lie and the teasing in his voice still made me nervous, Christ. “Yeah. And I was just sitting here thinking about how I was going to manage that…”

The Captain stood, abruptly, brushing the dirt off his pants. He held out a hand to me and I took it, letting him help me up. “Never let it be said I didn’t help the underdog.” He winked at me. “I think I might be able to help you out here.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

He led me though a back door and down miles of hallways, with conference rooms and who knows what lining all of them. It would’ve taken a week to search the whole place. There was a big set of double doors that had two people in black suits and sunglasses standing outside of ‘em, and they both nodded at Steve when he went in. I hung back. I was pretty sure any room guarded by these people I wasn’t supposed to be in.

“Coming?” Steve had noticed I wasn’t following him. I nervously slipped through the crack in the wooden doors, very aware of the guards watching me, and followed him into this giant room. It was clearly set up for the meet and greet, with rows and rows of velvet rope making a line like you see at Coney Island, all leading up to a big stage and a backdrop that had Stark Industries and the fair logo printed all over it.

I whistled. “Fancy setup you got. It’s almost like you’re famous or something.”

He laughed a little at that, moving some ropes aside so we could walk directly up to the stage. “You’re telling me. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.” The stage had a black curtain running around the bottom of it to cover the gap between the stage and the floor, and he poked around underneath it.

I swung myself to sit up on the stage, letting my feet dangle. “So, why are you even here, anyways?” I winced. Little harsh there, Goldie. “I mean, at a science thing. I thought it was more of an Iron Man thing.”

“It is.” He emerged with a big suitcase, laying it on top of the stage like it weighed nothing. “But I like to tag along. I like to meet the people.” He winked at me. “Taking pictures, helping people win bets, that sort of thing.”

Okay, yeah, this guy was pretty okay. “Well I thank you very much Mr. Rogers.” I gave him a real smile. “My brother is gonna be pretty pissed.”

The suitcase was locked with some fingerprint thing, and when it popped open I couldn’t help but stare. His suit was folded up in the bottom, and strapped to the lid- the shield. It was smaller than I thought it’d be, but it also felt like it’d knock down an entire building if you threw it right. The paint was perfect, and the metal-

The metal was practically vibrating. No pun intended. It was just humming there in its little case, practically begging you to pick it up, daring someone to throw whatever they could at you. It took everything I had to stay where I was sitting.

“Okay, it’s a little heavy.” I snorted as he lifted it with ease. “So I’m going to set it down by the edge and see if you can pick it up by the strap, alright?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I probably should have pretended it was heavier or something, but I lifted it straight up, too eager to get my hands on it. Steve raised an eyebrow as I hefted it up to chest level, looking for all the world like a mini female Captain. Except my hair was a lot more tangly than his.

The metal responded beautifully, I could tell just by holding it. It sang, and I sang with it. Dense, yet flexible, and lighter than it should have been. The guy on the black market had said it was practically indestructible. Specs like this, even for an alloy, should’ve been impossible, but… here it was. _God, we were going to be rich._

“Do you have a phone?”

“Oh, crap, sorry.” He shook me out of my trance, and I laughed nervously, trying to cover up my coveting. I dug my piece of crap phone out of my back pocket and handed it to him. “Here.”

I purposefully didn’t tell him how to access the camera so he’d have to fiddle around with it for a minute, and I’d have time to figure out where the best place to tear off a chunk would be. My guess was in the center; the edges were thinner and you’d be able to see any scratches easier. Considering this thing was almost ridiculously scratch-free, I’d have to be really careful with this.

“Okay, ready?” He had the camera pointed at me on the stage. I smiled and nodded, striking my best superhero pose. While I heard the camera clicking away, my thumb was gouging out a thick sliver of metal right underneath the left strap. When we traded back, my phone for his shield, there was a shiny new ring wrapped around my middle finger.

 


	7. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

“Hey Jarvis, can you tell me where Tony is?”

“Mr. Stark is presently in his workshop.”

“Thanks.”

Steve aimed for the elevator, tying his sweatpants a little tighter around his hips. A nervous tick. Something had been niggling at the back of his mind all week. He tried to work it out in the gym, do a new sketch… but no. Still there. It was ludicrous really, even the thought that anything was wrong. Nothing had been wrong since Howard had first handed it to him more than seven decades ago.

Still. Never hurt to be prudent.

Tony was currently welding a slightly dangerous looking contraption, sparks cascading over a red glowing something or other. Probably best not to tap his shoulder and risk getting a hand melted off. Instead, he went over to the holding tank containing his suit and shield, primed for any repairs that may need to be done. The shield was lifted off its hook and strapped to his arm. He lifted it slightly, testing the weight. Raised it up. Down. Up. Down again. Checking the balance, how stable it was on his fully extended arm. And ever so slightly, he could feel the metal shift, no longer resting perfectly along its axis. Something was wrong. But Steve couldn’t understand it. When had it ever felt off?

“Getting some practice in, Cap?” Tony lifted the welding mask off his head and let it clang onto the table next to him. The flames had been extinguished, for now, but there was still the lingering scent of smoke and metal that always permeated the shop.

“Something’s wrong.”

“With what?” Steve gestured with his arm, shield still strapped to it. Tony raised an eyebrow. “The shield? Funny jokes, Steve, I’ve run so many diagnostics on that thing it’d make your head spin and there’s never been anything-”

“Tony.” He tugged on one strap. Then the other. Set the shield gingerly down on the workbench in front of him like he might’ve handled a grenade. “Humor me. Please.”

“Alright, alright. Don’t get your star spangled panties in a twist.” Steve tried not to wince as Tony hefted the shield unceremoniously and fit it into one of the fabrication units. Mechanical arms immediately began to poke and prod. “Jarvis, run a full workup on the shield.”

“Calculating, sir.”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“I-” How to say this without sounding paranoid. Or stupid. “It feels odd. I couldn’t tell you what. But the balance is all off-”

“Scan complete.”

“Whatcha got for us?”

“Current diameter; two point five feet. Current weight; eleven point nine seven seven pounds. Makeup is a vibranium-steel alloy; percentage of vibranium totals-”

“Stop.” Tony was looking up at the ceiling like he could stare Jarvis in the face. “Access scan from… two weeks ago. Run the results.”

“Current diameter; two point five feet. Current weight; twelve point zero zero pounds. Makeup is a vibranium-steel al-”

“Stop.” He dropped his gaze to Steve. “You were right.”

Steve nodded. “Lighter. By… “

“Zero point zero two three grams, Captain.”

Tony stared at the shield. “What. The fuck.”

“Language, Tony.”

“No, seriously, Cap, this deserves a what the fuck. What. The FUCK.” Tony ran both hands through an already unruly set of curls, leaving it sticking straight up. “Jarvis, 3D model, now.”

A transparent blue image appeared in the air before him, and he immediately began twisting and turning it this way and that, fingers dancing on air. “Deconstruct, and enhance.” The hologram split apart into layers, hovering a few inches away from each other like a tightly-controlled explosion. The engineer’s eyes were dancing, absorbing every little mark, fingertips scanning for any imperfection-

“There. Cap, you need to see this.”

Steve trailed over. Nervous. “Almost underneath the left arm strap, you can see- Jarvis, enhance.” He poked at the blown up schematics. “There. Some of the metal got gouged out.”

“Gouged out? I thought that was supposed to be-”

“Impossible,” Tony confirmed, swiping away the hologram with a quick slash through the air. “Unless it was done here in the lab or somewhere similar, which believe me, dear old dad would pull a force ghost and fry my ass if I ever even thought about-”

“I got it, Tony, thank you.” What in the world was a force ghost? Steve traced a tentative hand over the outline of the star. “So what happened?”

“You tell me, Cap, it’s been in your hands since last week.”

Well. “Training. Sparring, with Clint and Natasha. Maybe one of Clint’s arrows…?”

“Clint is mutant good but I don’t think even he could hit the back of your shield right there without stabbing your arm.”

“Is it-is it finally wearing out?” The thought put a pang through his heart unexpectedly.

“Possible, but I doubt it.” He tugged the strap in question to the side and examined the scratch up close, running a practiced finger over it. “This doesn’t look like natural wear. This was deliberate. Like someone took a chisel to it.” He sighed. “Which, again, should not be possible.”

“Right.”

They both stared at the metal like they were seeing it for the first time. It offered nothing by way of explanations nor hints as to what might have happened.

“What do we do?”

Tony kept rubbing the scar over and over, like he could smooth it out with just the pad of his thumb. “I can try and fill it with something similar, or just buff it out as best I can.” He looked at Steve. “How much is it going to throw you off?”

A shrug. “Won’t know until I use it again.”

Tony nodded. “I’ll have it back to you tomorrow morning.”

A dismissal of he had ever heard one. He was almost reluctant to leave, although Tony’s workshop was arguably the safest place for it on the North American continent. But still, something had happened- on his watch…

As the glass door slid open for his exit, he heard Tony dictating to Jarvis. “Jarvis, pull security footage from the past month, both here in the tower and at SHIELD…”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

  
We were rich.

It was a reeeeeeeally under the table meeting, which made both of us feel weird, but hey, we found the dude on the dark web, so I don’t know what we were expecting. It was like in the movies- a straight exchange, suitcase for suitcase. They did it in an alley in the middle of Manhattan though, so its not like it was super secret, I guess. But Jordie had purposefully picked a location that was one, far away from our house and two, had a place nearby for me to hide. The man was dressed in a fancy grey suit, and gave Jordie a black leather suitcase. Then he opened his bag, and Jordie opened ours.

I could see the handful of bills Jordie pulled out, and my eyes went wide. _Rich_. There had to be a million dollars in there, easily. Enough to last us a long time.

The man seemed equally as excited. I had replicated the vibranium into perfect cubes, then we stacked them all inside some cut foam so it’d look more official. Which was probably stupid; he was going to realize he wasn’t buying from some lab once a kid showed up to hand him the stuff. But anyways, it definitely looked impressive- and it was taking all my concentration to keep hold on it.

The man had already poured some liquid onto a cube that burned like a bitch, but I guess he was satisfied it was real because he closed the lid with a thunk.

“This shall do nicely.” The guy had a little bit of an accent, but I didn’t really know what it was. French, maybe? It was heavy. “A pleasure doing business with you.”

The man walked off. A few minutes later, Jordie and I were walking through Central Park like we didn’t have a care in the entire freaking world. It had been so simple. Too simple. But we were high on the fact that tonight we could go to the grocery and actually buy enough food for a whole month, not just day to day.

We should’ve known better, I guess. But how could we have?

======================================================================

  
There was a knock at the door. Everyone else was out- Mom at the park with Benny, Maddie celebrating the science fair thing with her friends, and Jordie was at work- so I pulled my headphones out and went to answer it.

It was the man that we’d sold the vibranium to. In the same grey suit.

But now he looked angry.

“I believe I am looking for a Jordan Reece.”

“Um…” _shitshitshit what do I do_ “He’s out right now. I can pass on a message?” I kept my voice steady. Like I hadn’t ever seen him before.

The man reached for his glasses and shook them off slightly, settling them further down onto his nose so he could stare at me. His gaze was cold. And then, a lone spark of recognition in his eye.   
“I think perhaps you may be of assistance, young lady.”

I tried to smile. “Um no, sorry, I don’t think so-”

There was a briefcase set by his feet. He rifled through it, then pulled out a glossy photo. An aerial shot of a very familiar alleyway. I could see the top of Jordie’s head.

And my blonde one, hidden around the corner about ten feet away.

“I believe it is in your best interest to answer my questions, little girl.”

I tried to slam the door but he stopped it with- a gun. Pulled out of his pocket and jammed between the door and its frame. I froze and backed away, letting the door swing open completely. He advanced inside, casually holding the end of the gun at me like he was offering me candy.

“Now then. Why don’t we have a little chat?”

I saw the gun swing and before I could react he had slammed it into the side of my head, knocking me to the ground. I saw red leaking from where I laid on the floor. And then my vision blurred, so there were about three or four puddles of hazy red rocking back and forth underneath me.

I head the man talking to someone, and I hoped it wasn’t me, because if I opened my mouth I’d taste the blood. While he was facing away from me I slowly, agonizingly took off one of my rings-the gold one- and pushed it under the rug in front of the front door.

And then the red tore through my vision, tugged at the back of my head, and ate me up. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Brief violence against the protagonist

I woke up on a steel bed in a blank room.

It was dim and hard to see, and as I struggled to sit up I felt my head throb like my brain wanted to pulse its way out of my body. Everything hurt. I tried to pick out where I might be but the room was completely descriptionless. Nothing but smooth, blank metal walls.

Walls I could turn into weapons, if I needed to.

The thought comforted me slightly when the door opened and three men walked in. Gray suit was behind a bald one, and one in glasses after him. They were silent. Gray suit was carrying a suitcase- our suitcase, that we had given him.

“I am sure you’ll be willing to explain this.” He unzipped the case and let a cascade of ash fall on my lap. I heard the metallic ping of the zipper hit the floor as he dropped the entire thing onto the floor in disgust. “We get a call saying someone has vibranium. We go, and pay a very nice sum for such a treasure. We test it to make sure it is pure. And then when we go to unload the cargo-” he spreads his hands. “Poof. Like nothing is ever there.” He crouches down so he’s eye to eye with me. “Perhaps you could enlighten us, little girl.”

“I- don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I believe you do.” He pulls out more photos. Me and Jordie walking home with the suitcase full of money. The front of the house. Mom perching Benny up on the windowsill to wave welcome home to us-

“Okay, okay.” I couldn’t help but choke a little on my own voice. _If they hurt Benny, or Mom… I would never forgive myself._

“Now. How does one manage to replicate vibranium? That is a question we have been asking ourselves for decades. And all of a sudden here come two children who appear to do so. But only for a little while, before it crumbles away.” He looks at me. “How do you do it?”

“I don’t know.”

“It is not wise to lie to us, little girl.” The bald man stepped behind gray suit’s shoulder, cracking his neck. “We do not take well to lies.”

Wham. I saw a hand whip back and sidearm me across the cheek, the side that took the beating with the gun. I cried out, but the man doesn’t look remorseful. Not at all.

“Now. I will ask again. How do you do it?”

“I don’t- _fuck_!” Another punch, hard, sending me slamming against the wall. I double over, not able to breathe through the pain. As he winds up for another one, I cough- “Wait! Wait, okay. I do it. I make the metal, but it’s fake, it doesn’t last.” I was crying now, big ugly sobs that shook my body. “Please, we’ll give the money back-”

“I am not concerned with the money.” He waves the bald one off. “How much of this metal can you make?”

Um… “A.. lot..?”

“And for how long?”

“However long I concentrate, please, just let me-”

“Silence.” His smile was thin and scary. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get it out of my head. He turned to the man in glasses, his boss I guess. “This is a fortuitous day.”

The man nodded. “Do what you will. Heil HYDRA!”

“Heil!” The followed the man out the door, leaving me in a sickening silence, their voices still echoing in the room.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mentions of torture

  
They did a lot… of stuff. I’m not gonna go through all of it because… it’s bad. I see it when I sleep anyways, I don’t want to talk about it.

The first thing they did was lead me to a giant lab. I was so glad to leave that steel room, but I didn’t know I wasn’t going back there again. There was a platform in the middle, with plastic rope attached, and they tied me in so I couldn’t get off the platform. Wrists and ankles. They gave me my rings- I guess they had taken them off at some point- and told me to show them what I could do. So I made a pair of earrings. Then they told me to sit there and keep the earrings in their shape.

At first it was easy. I was holding them, so that was good. Thirty minutes in I was tired. I tried to tell them but the bald man just slapped me a few times. Ordered me to be quiet. So I kept going. I think I lasted an hour, but by then I was flat on my back and in tears, desperately trying to stay afloat. When they finally dissolved, they tied the ropes tighter so they cut into my skin and made them bleed.

And told me to do it again.

I would get an hour break in between each attempt, maybe. If I stopped, or if I didn’t last as long as they wanted, the man would come and kick me, or hit me. He liked knocking me down by my legs. Eventually I just stopped standing up.

Then they placed a hunk of something a few feet away from the platform, and told me to get it. I pulled on the ropes for hours before I realised they meant to do it with my thing. I told them I couldn’t. They hit me in the head until I forgot about not being able to do it. Pretty soon I could move desks without touching them all the was across the room. Transform them into something else, and hold it for hours. I could do it laying down, half conscious.

A woman came in and told me there was a workshop in the room over. They needed vibranium, to test and build with. She handed me the ring I had gotten from the shield and said make more. So I did. Big sheets of it. It was easy now. But then they started making things with it. Welding it, hammering it into place. And that… hurt. I could feel every burn on my skin like they were holding the torch to me and not the metal. Sometimes things blistered. Sometimes the weight of the invisible hammers made me feel like my bones were going to break. But I held on because that was the only way they would give me water or food, and the bald man would stay away.

I don’t know how long I was there. The room was windowless, no clocks, just the same rotations of people coming through. I slept some, I think. Not well. I was still tied to the stage, and they would wake me up with a jerk that made my arms and legs bleed, or sometimes electricity.

The day the alarms started sounding I was curled up in a ball, trying to ignore the throbbing throughout my entire body. The pain in my head. How hungry I was. My eyes were closed to block out the light. But I kept doing what they wanted, because I couldn’t stop. It was like it was automatic. They’d hit me and it would flip a switch, flip me on.   
There were some explosions, I think. My vision was fuzzy and my ears were always ringing, so I don’t know what was outside and what was inside my head. People were rushing around and trying not to seem panicked but I could tell they were scared. Someone cut the ropes and pushed me to my feet, and ordered me to follow a group of soldiers out the door. So I did. Tried to put one foot in front of the other.

The corridors were long and meaningless. Everything was hazy. I heard shouting and screaming but I don’t think I really _heard_ it. I just kept walking. Someone would poke me hard if I slowed down, so I kept pace okay.

Someone was at the end of the hallway. He wasn’t HYDRA because he was wearing blue and red, and they don’t do colors. And he started attacking the soldiers, so that was nice.

I remember I just sat down against the wall, trying to hold my ears to keep from hearing the bullets. I still couldn’t see very well, everything was white. Too bright. Someone was yelling at me, two people were yelling at me, telling me to take cover, telling me to run. I just sat. I didn’t care if they killed me.

But when the smoke cleared and the noise settled, I saw Steve standing in front of me. He was in his uniform, looking deadly with his shield strapped across his arm. That damn shield. He was kneeling in front of me and his mouth was moving, but the ringing was too loud to hear him. He gently reached for a wrist and I shuddered away. Tried to crawl back down the hallway. But he easily caught up with me and picked me up, carrying me like some princess through the wreckage.

“What… how did you…” My voice was scratchy and barely audible from no use but screaming and crying.

“Your brother found your ring. Raised hell until we mounted a recovery mission.” He was not looking at me, focusing on the hallways ahead of us. He was mad at me. Why wouldn’t he be? “You’re safe now Goldie.”

“I… okay.” My head fell to his shoulder as he carried me and I was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I didn’t want to be too explicit in this chapter... I like Goldie too much


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

“And that’s all I remember.”

The agent across the table from me looks up from his pad of paper. I can see his handwriting from here; all smooth blue ink, at a contrast from his black suit. His face remains expressionless, just as it has the entire time I’ve been talking. Then he wordlessly goes back to his notes.

I’m shivering a little. The conference room is all gray and steel, and I’m still in the hospital gown I woke up in. Bandaids pepper my arms from the handful of IVs that had been stuck to me. I play with the little ties hanging off the dress like tassels, trying not to look down at my reflection in the polished table.

Matted, greasy hair. Bruises everywhere, painting me purple. Dark rings under my eyes. I look feral. I look like I haven’t eaten in weeks.

I guess I haven’t.

“Is my family okay?”

The man raises an eyebrow. “I don’t think they- I don’t know if they’re okay.”

“Your family is fine. We took them into custody once we verified their story.”

Relief is a wave running through me. “Can I see them. Please, I- I need to know they’re alright.”

“In due time.” Finally, the notepad and pen are set aside and he crosses his hands in front of him, looking at me blandly. “Well, Ms. Ellie. You’ve told quite the story.”

There’s no reproach in his voice, no reprimand. He’s just stating the facts. “I guess.” I shrug my shoulders, then wince, feeling muscles I don’t know I have strain and pull. “I don’t know how else to say it.”

He made a noncommittal noise, then swept up his notes into one hand. “Your older brother is waiting outside, along with some other individuals who would like to ask you some questions.”

 _Jordie_. “I told you I don’t remember anything else.”

“I would imagine they are different questions.”

“O- okay.” He stands, clearly preparing to leave, but- “Um. Agent… agent Coulson? Would you mind staying?” I stare at my hands and pick at the edge of a bandage. “You’re kinda the only person who hasn’t been mad at me this whole time.”

He doesn’t respond, but I hear his chair scrape as he settles back into it. Maybe he can keep people from shouting. He doesn’t seem to like anything above a mid whisper.

“Goldie!”

The door has opened with a pneumatic hiss and Jordie comes rushing through. His sweatshirt is stained and his hair is almost as big a mess as mine, but I don’t care. The hug he pulls me into hurts, digging into my ribs and making a big cut on my back sting, but I just pull him closer, trying not to sob like a baby into the soft folds of his top. He’s murmuring something onto the top of my head as his head rests on mine, but I can’t understand him through the raspiness of his voice. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry Goldie. Oh god, we thought you were dead-”

He pulls away and has me by the shoulders, like he’s reassuring himself that I’m real. I feel a thumb lightly wipe away a tear that’s traced its way down my bruised cheek. I clutch his hand to my face. “It’s okay Jordie. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s-”

The door opens again and we both start a little. I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him to my side. I don’t want them to make him leave.

“I believe you are already acquainted with Mr. Rogers.” Coulson is toneless as he introduces a familiar bulky blonde stepping through the doorway. “And this-”

“Tony Stark.” The man was gruff, with a small cut across his cheekbone. Iron Man. I vaguely recall red and gold streaks in the sky as the base blew up behind us. “Also known as the one who blew up all the Nazis while Rogers saved your sorry ass.” He tales a closer look at me, peering with hard eyes. “Jesus Christ, what are you, ten? Why the hell would you even do-”

“Tony.”

“No, Steve, I get to say my piece. You somehow manage to get close enough to a heavily guarded piece of tech- _my_ tech, by the way, people don’t mess with _my_ tech- stick a thumbnail in it and scrape off a piece like it’s _chalk_ , then turn around and sell a bunch of fake replicated vibranium to _HYDRA_.” The fire in his eyes makes my fists clench, and Jordie puts a protective hand on my shoulder. “I’ve done a lot of stupid shit in my day but I think you win. Christ.”

He slumps into a chair like the energy has been drained out of him. Steve- god, Steve, I’m really sorry- is staring at me with the sort of expression you give someone who you don’t know is a friend or enemy. “I’m- sorry,” I whisper, and try to subtly wipe away the water on my face.

He throws his hands in an I-give-up position. “She’s sorry. Well, that just solves everything now doesn’t it? Listen here you little-”

“Tony.” Steve’s voice is almost calmer than Coulson’s. “That’s enough.”

“She-”

“That’s. Enough.”

The room goes quiet. I can feel Jordie shaking through his hand that’s still on my shoulder, and I know I must be too. The people in this room could probably kill us with one hand if they decided to. Steve is still studying me.

“Can you really do all that?”

My head jerks over to him. “What?”

“With the-” he gestures vaguely around the room. Steel. The silver on a watch Tony Stark must be wearing under his suit, and the bracelet that will extend into a gauntlet at the touch of a button.

“Yeah.” I look at him, finally. Blue eyes versus brown. “I’m sorry.”

He shakes his head. “No. You did what you had to do. You tried to save a whole family by yourself.” A few seconds pass, and then there’s a small smile on his lips. “I would’ve done the same. Or Bucky. I can’t be mad at that.” His eyes harden a little. “But you have to come clean. On what you can do. SHIELD-” He nods at Coulson, who has been watching us with a cool air. “They can protect people like you. But they have to know what they’re protecting.”

“I-” please don’t make me do this. “I can’t. I don’t want to.”

“I know you don’t.” He lays a hand on the table, about a foot from mine. A peace offering. “But beyond SHIELD… I have to admit, I’m curious.” A real smile now. Trying to lighten the mood. I give him a small one back. “Would you try something for me?”

I-

“Yeah.”

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

I try to breathe. No one is forcing me this time. It’s okay. But I’m tired, and I need something easy- something precious. Not as commonplace as steel. Steel is well and good but it’s so dense it’s exhausting sometimes.

I try to level my gaze at Stark, though I can’t quite look him in the eyes. “Don’t freak out.”

His eyes immediately widen. “Don’t freak out? If you touch me I swear to God I will-”

“I’m not going to touch you.” My voice is flat, not the razor edge I wanted. I close my eyes, feeling for the bracelet he has wrapped around his right wrist. I can’t quite identify what’s in it, but its buzzing is driving me crazy. Titanium, maybe. With something in it to keep it light.

Slowly, so he won’t notice, I begin sawing a fingernail against my palm in tiny motions, back and forth. I can feel it begin to give, and I will it to be more pliable, almost fluid like water as it slips from his sleeve and slithers across the table to me like something alive. It stops, and I pick it up and bend it around my wrist so it hardens back into shape.

Stark grabs his wrist, hard. It reminds me too much of the manacles, and I flinch. Focus. If you do this right, they’ll all be safe. “What the _fuck_ do you think you’re doi-”

Steve holds a hand out, silencing him. He’s still watching me, obviously fascinated. His blue eyes sparkle like Maddie’s when she’s found something beautiful. It takes me a moment to find the activation plate- my fingers fumble for it- but I find it eventually with my ring finger, and smooth red plating glides over my forearm like a dream. It’s beautifully made, ending with a repulsor in my palm that sparks like I’m holding a star.

Tony is talking now, something angry, so I need to hurry. And I don’t want to accidentally set this thing off. I focus on the image I have of the Iron Man suit from TV- flying through the air, rolling gracefully to the ground, waving to the crowd. Then I reach into the gauntlet and pull.

The metal expands, and extends, folding its way up my arm and over my shoulder, down my back. I shiver at the touch of it. Cold. But I keep going, letting it engulf me until I am standing in a perfect replica of his suit, down to the gold faceplate. I can see myself in the reflection of the one way glass that walls the conference room. I can also see Steve and Tony with equally shocked expressions as I experiment with flexing my shoulders, lifting a knee. It is incredibly light, though it doesn’t have wiring or anything else to actually power it. It’s a shell. But a damn impressive one. I can’t help but feel a little spark of pride somewhere in the pit of my stomach.

Slowly, I let it fall away, melting into nothing but a little pile of ashes at my feet. Only the armpiece is left, and I deactivate it, calmly walking over to Stark and holding it out to him. “You’ll probably have to weld that back together or something. Sorry.”

He takes it wordlessly, staring at the tech like he’s seeing it for the first time. Jordie is visibly white. “Where… how did you do that? You’ve never… done anything like that.”

“I had some practice.” I try not to let my voice crack when I say that. He looks at me in horror and I wonder just how much of my confession they let him hear.

I turn to Coulson w _ho STILL has a neutral expression goddamn it_. “Is that enough? To relocate them or something? Because Maddie and mom, they didn’t have anything to do with this, and Benny can’t even talk yet, and Jordie-” I look at him. He’s collapsed into a seat next to me like he’s made of sand. “Jordie deserves a lot better.” I put on my best negotiation face. “So what can you do for them?”

“You act like you’re not going with them.” Steve sounds sad.

I shake my head. “I’m dangerous. I can’t. You guys can do what you want with me, I guess.” Preferably not have Tony Stark tear me to pieces, but…

“I’ll see what we can do for you.” The Agent rises from his seat and leaves, Stark following in his footsteps, muttering about stupid ten year old thinks she’s a goddamn superhero-

I’m so, so tired.

The door closes. Steve is still here, but I’m past caring why. I just put my head in my arms, letting myself slump onto the table. I vaguely wondered if they’d put me back into that hospital bed. At least then nobody could interrogate me.

“What… did they-” I can hear Jordie’s voice shaking. “What happened, Goldie?”

“They didn’t tell you?”

I take his silence as a no. I lift my head and set my chin down on my folded forearms. “Maybe I’ll tell you someday.” He nods, accepting that vague promise.

Steve still looks sad. His face tells me he heard every single word.

===================================================================

  
It’s over a month before I’m finally released from SHIELD’s medical unit. Most of it was spent sleeping, trying to save up strength for the afternoon physical therapy sessions they scheduled for me. Working muscles back into place, putting stretch into others that had lost their elasticity. It was hell, but sometimes they let me play around. Supervised, obviously. My favorite was still Agent Coulson. It became a game- what could I do that would actually get a visible reaction out of him?

And then there was Steve. He came and visited me a lot, especially once I was usually conscious for most of the day. The first time he just apologized for Tony Stark a lot. I called him a dick and Steve had laughed and said yeah, pretty much, but you warm up to him, and then we sat in comfortable silence until whatever they put in my IV made me fall asleep again.

Sometimes he’d sit with me when I was asleep, except I wasn’t really asleep. But I’d just lay there with my eyes closed and he’d tell me stories about shit going down in the tower they all live in together. Apparently Hawkeye is a big prankster, and Tony Stark is really just an overgrown child who likes to play with a sentient toaster. It was nice.

I see him again, when my bag is packed and I’m waiting for an agent to escort me out to a car. They said everyone had been moved to a new house a few states away, in a heavy SHIELD-presence area, and I was finally going out to meet them. Goodby steel gray walls and hospital food. I’m still tired, a lot. And I haven’t done my… thing since that day in the conference room. But still. I missed Benny, and Mom, and even Maddie and her crazy science shit. And Jordie.

“Figured I’d escort you out.” Steve greets me with an easy smile, and I find that its easy to smile back. He’s kept his word, he never seemed mad at me for everything that’s happened. He’s been an actual friend throughout all this. I hope I’ve been one to him. “Need a hand?”

He carries my bag, even though it’s light, and leads me down corridors of black-clad agents. “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty okay. Two days ago I tried to do a backflip in therapy and Coulson actually jumped, so I’m going to count that as solidly satisfactory.”

The Captain chuckles, slinging my duffel over his shoulder. “And about the deal?”

The deal. I’d called Jordie and Mom a few nights ago and read it out loud to them, piece by piece, and we all talked about it. But really, it wasn’t a choice. They were giving us a house, a stipend, school, protection if we needed it- I signed it three hours after they told me to think about it. “Good. For the most part.” I glance at him. “Except it looks like I’m gonna be stuck with you for a lot longer. Sucks.”

“Harsh.” There isn’t any edge behind his words. He stops in front of a big black car with tinted windows. It looks like it might be armored. The thought scares me a little- are they expecting something to happen?

“Hey.” I look at him. He offers me my stuff and gives me another sunny smile. “You’re gonna be fine. You’ve made a lot of progress. And we’ll only be a call away.”

“If I call, please do not bring Tony.” I open the car door to the sound of his laugh and climb in, using the door to boost myself up. I’m reluctant to close it, so Steve does it for me. He gives the car a reassuring pat and it starts to move off towards- well. I don’t know really. I guess I’ll find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toaterverse reference! All credit to scifigrl47.


	13. Epilogue: The Contract

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goldie and her brother are about to pull off the biggest theft in modern history: a sliver of vibranium from Captain America’s shield.

This contract stipulates the agreement made between Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Reese (hereby referred to as ‘the subject’) and the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (hereby referred to as ‘SHIELD’).

I. The subject may not use her ability outside of SHIELD-sanctioned areas unless in times of extreme duress, as determined by the cautious judgement of the subject.

II. The subject will not commit any crime against the Law of the United States of America or any other international entity  
\- The subject will not use her ability to commit acts against the Law of the United States of America or any other international entity

III. The subject will attend monthly SHIELD-sanctioned training sessions in order to gain greater control over her abilities, for the safety of herself and those around her. Failure to attend these sessions will result in the termination of this contract.

IV. Subject will be mentored by a volunteer under supervision of SHIELD and SHIELD’s psychiatric division. The mentor will help the mentee gain further control over her powers, as well as speak to the discipline and lifestyle of one living with an ability.   
\- Psychiatric evaluations will be administered bi-yearly, or at request of Director Nicholas Fury should hesitations arise

V. Subject must remain in school through twelfth grade and obtain a high school diploma. Should the subject wish to receive further education, SHIELD will provide payment for subject’s college of choice. Subject is not obligated to enter the SHIELD workforce at any time.

VI. In exchange for compliance, subject will receive SHIELD monitored and protected living accommodations for herself and immediate family, as well as a stipend for each individual family member to supplement the household income. Should an emergency arise, SHIELD will provide adequate assistance as the situation deems necessary. 

 

Director: _Nicholas Fury_

Witness: _Phil Coulson_

Volunteer Mentor: _Steven G. Rogers_

Subject: _Eleanor Reece_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not exactly my magnum opus, but hey, I’m proud of it. Let me know what you think in the comments, I’m sure it’ll make my day. Cheers!


End file.
